Eisa Bakos shot a bunch of photos during this year’s edition of Simple Session and he put together a sick photogallery for Ride UK that you can check here. Love the above shot of AK doing a up switch crook to whip!
Framework: Steven Hamilton and a Columbus Dumpster
From RideBMX Issue #204
May 23, 2014, Columbus, Ohio
Canon 1DsIII
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 70mm
Canon 580EXII flash (zoom @ 35mm (?), 1/2 power)
Paul C. Buff Einstein 640w flash w/ 11″ reflector (probably @ 1/2 power (~1/2000 duration))
Pocket Wizards
1/250 @ f/11, ISO 100
A typical day of shooting with Steven involves picking him up with his bike, skateboard, thermos of coffee and backpack full of tools, hoodie and a TRV900. On this particular day, Shay Lashley and/or John Hughes were tagging along. Steven’s friend Rob met us at the spot- a small ditch in the corner of a vacant apartment complex parking lot. The goal was to film a few clips involving a shopping cart there but upon arrival, an upturned dumpster became the subject of focus. Well-versed in wallrides, Steven sessioned the shit out of the thing before I suggested we shoot a photo. I set up to shoot an x-up wallride with a standard 50mm lens. I put the Einstein to the right, just out of frame, and a Lumedyne 200w Action Pack to the left, sandwiching Steven in between.
I was trying to work with the empty parking lot and lightposts but my composition ended up being pretty tired and boring. On top of that, it was so bright that I had to get my flashes closer to overpower the ambient light and reduce the motion blur. As per usual, Steven suggested I use a fisheye and for once I agreed with him.
The shot definitely became less boring but the motion blur continued to be a problem even after closing down to f/11 from f/9. At this point, Steven was happy with the photo but I was not. In addition to my discontent, my Lumedyne battery died. I replaced it with a much less powerful 580EXII set on 1/2 power (~1/1600 duration). I asked if he could do a different trick and wait until the sun hid behind the clouds so that motion blur would be reduced. I also changed my angle so that he’d be moving toward the camera and not across the frame, effectively diminishing any possible motion blur issues. This is when we got the shot.
The Einstein is just out of frame to the right (you can kinda see the splash of light on the ground from it) about 6′ up and the 580EXII is just out of frame on the left, also 6′ high, simply to freeze his wheels a bit. At 100% you can see that there was still some unavoidable motion blur on his wheels, which were spinning super fast-
So the table is looking dialed, à la Joe Rich, but this angle doesn’t convey the distance he was traveling out of the wallride. This one does-
I used some heavy panning to sharpen his lateral movement but I must’ve had the 580 at full power because his front wheel is lit up but a blurry mess-
Peep the bling tho.
Shot it once natural light for shits and giggles.
Posted in BMX, Framework, Gear, Photo, Tech
Tagged Canon, Columbus, Joe Rich, Paul C. Buff, Pocket Wizards, Steven Hamilton
Woodward East – Summer Position Available
“Woodward East is seeking a full-time photography instructor for the summer of 2015. The instructor will be in charge of the photography portion of Digital Media Camp and will work with campers in our 5000 square foot studio, in addition to the rest of camp. We are seeking working professionals with action and commercial shooting experience, including a broad knowledge of studio/location lighting and proficiency in Lightroom and Photoshop.
Applicants need to be at least 18 years old and able to commit to a full 12 week summer at camp, working about 7-8 hours per day, 5-6 days per week. Weekly salary plus room and board. To apply, fill out and submit an application at www.campwoodward.com. In addition, please send an introductory email and samples of work to Josh McElwee at jmcelweephoto@gmail.com and to Dave Metty at dave.metty@gmail.com
We look forward to hearing from you!”
“Glidecam BMX Tips” with Dalton Campbell
I’ve never used a Glidecam but I feel confident that I could now, thanks to this tutorial.
RideBMX “One Moment in BMX” Video
Late last year Ride went to their contributors with the idea of shooting photos at a specific time to showcase just how much BMX is going on around the world at any given time. November 23rd at 1pm PST was go time and teams of riders, photographers and filmers from California to Spain all converged on that One Moment to collectively create something special. The article came out awesome and this video does well to show the anticipation, the build up and the payoff of one extraordinary moment in BMX.
Tagged Aaron Brenner, aaron ross, Anton Zamora, Billy Perry, Brandon Means, Chad Kerley, Charlie Crumlish, Chris Mortenson, Christian Rigal, Darryl Tocco, Dennis Enarson, Devon Hutchins, Dirt Ron, Doeby, Eric Bahlman, Gary Young, Josh McElwee, Justin Kosman, Kareem Williams, Marc Meeuwissen, Mike Meister, Nick Jones, Ridebmx, Ruben Alcantara, Sam Buros, sandy carson, Scott Marceau, Spencer Lee, Stevie Churchill, Ted Van Orman, Tony Neyer, Tristan Afre, Vincent Perraud
Tony Malouf Clear Water Beverage Promo
Expertly edited by dar man himself.
TCU TV – The Photographer’s Discussion
A while back, I had the chance to get a few established photographers in the industry together to talk shop. I had a loose list of topics we could hit and Jeremy had a list of his own. We didn’t get to hit nearly as many subjects as we would have liked to, but that’s usually how these things go. I think we did pretty well with the time allotted and we’re hoping that any aspiring lensmen will be enlightened by our discussion.
If there are any specific topics that you’d want us to hit for the next discussion, please leave them in a comment below.
1:09 – Jeremy Pavia introduction
2:47 – Chris Mortenson introduction
4:28 – Josh McElwee introduction
6:25 – Jeremy’s “Through The Lens” column from The Union
9:21 – “Film vs. Digital” (actually we discuss Dean Collins and teaching for a while)
11:22 – We actually start discussing the film versus digital thing
13:26 – Shoutout to the darkroom
18:53 – What’s your favorite f/stop?
21:31 – “I just wanna capture the moment and sometimes the moment is shitty”
23:00 – No more hanging posters
24:11 – “Print vs. Online”
25:08 – Gregory Crewdson
28:48 – Readership
30:16 – Vinyl vs. MP3
30:55 – The Albion
31:55 – Props on VHS
36:04 – Josh’s story
37:45 – DIG/Focal Point
40:57 – A watered-down industry
43:35 – The process of shooting/choosing what gear to carry
46:13 – Getting the shot
49:22 – Fuck barspins.
50:35 – A collaboration between photographer and subject
55:19 – Riders getting hurt while shooting
57:01 – Shoutout to Kiraly
58:34 – RideBMX‘s 1 o’clock photo project
1:04:19 – Let’s talk about gear
1:08:57 – Advances in photo technology
1:12:25 – How to get your photos noticed
1:13:44 – Looking outside of BMX
1:15:43 – Experience
1:17:14 – Final thoughts and comments
Posted in BMX, Gear, Interview, Podcast, Tech
Tagged BMX, Chris Mortenson, Jeremy Pavia, Josh McElwee, Magazines, Photography, Scott Marceau, The Come Up
“Back to Vietnam” by Hadrien Picard
A couple weeks ago, Hadrien Picard dropped his latest Nokia Pureviews project chronocling a trip [back] to Vietnam with Hoang Tran and Joris Coulomb. In addition to video, Hadrien also shot a ton of stills and put a bunch of the best ones together for us. This gallery, shot entirely on Nokia Lumia phones, came out awesome and does well to show what an amazing cultural experience this was. All of these photos are available wallpaper sized as well.
Honestly who is better at rail ride than Joris these days ? See this little bus out as a warm up for his so hard 36 out to be seen in the video.
Joris and Hoang combined are probably the best duo of Hair cut on the market, here they come at the back of the jeep on the way to the dunes of Mui Né.
This is for this kind of moment that we organise such trip to far away destinations, and this is for this kind of clips that we thank bmx everyday to make us enjoy that : the only concrete ramp in vietnam, a diy medium lost in a garden of Mui Né beach resort.
As the wet season was not completely over yet, we enjoyed a couple of heavy rain shower, litterally shower, warm and quick that transformed all the scooter people in colorful moving plastic thing.
The jam took place at an outdoor bar called « Saigon Outkast », with a tight and sketchy mini that opened the skin of Joris and offered him a ride to the hospital…which was separated between locals and foreigners.. Weird…but maybe for the best when we remember jors wound infection in Estonia some year ago.
I personnaly can’t imagine going to such destinations and not sharing any session or time with the rare local bmxer, so instead of just riding exotic spots and move away without a sign, we organised a jam on street spots we made built for this occasion (a curb and a rail that would stay there)…And yeah, that was f… worth it. Saigon Rules
Find the skyway wheel in this photo and win a free Lumia…or not
The moderne Distric 7 of Saigon is a weird place, all clean, empty and quiet, like a abandonned California before an catastroph (ok i watch too many zombie movies) wich is completely fine with Hoang Tran clicking an invert
…in front of the security guy
…under the palm trees
Where the favorite sport seems to be the DA CAU (some sort of badminton where you juggle a flying thing with your feet), a bmx attached to a scooter is probably a bit curious.
Another unplanned demo for Hoang tran grinding with his crank this very unique set up
Safety first ! or the irony of the vietnamese helmets that show perfectly the very laid back atmosphere of this country where riding a scooter can be so much fun.
There are so many scooter in Saigon that during the rush hour you could be stuck in a scooter trafic jam !
Riding bicycle during rush hour can be a little bit suffocating in such a big city…but from what we heard this mask are mostly used for girls to look more awesome…this is actually working pretty well with bmxer too.
When you see hanging on the same wall Che Guevara and Vladimir Poutine, you can’t be surprise of seeing the father owning our RBnB flat coming back drunk every night hahaha. And joris to continue brushing his teeth.
Joris riding down the gipsy wall…
Hoang riding up the gipsy wall
And the gipsy wall say « CAM ON »…meaning thank you in vietnamese
And one ! One more convinced by the coolitude of a bmx bike.
First Spot of the trip, a large barge where Hoang footplants in front of an massiv crowd stopped in the middle of the road, perfect protection from the traffic.
Born in Saigon, raised in Usa, Hoang has brought back his smile and happy mind set to a country that is actually having the same friendly spirit.
The best noodle restaurant, right in front of the place we were staying !
The Streets are talking english in Saigon, thanks to this man : Isaac Clarcke, much more nicer than he looks on this photograph.
Vietnam from above, feat the infamous mekong river
After breaking another flat curb, Joris takes a breather in this very humid and hot climate.
How cool this dude is, Joris, one of the most charismatic guy on the bmx scene…has even his own badge thanks to marie jade.
At the end of the trip, we flipped a coin to decide if we would stay in Mui Né to visit the fantastic dunes or come back to Saigon to ride and film a perfect ledge ride set up…the coin said Saigon, we smiled…and stayed in Mui né. La vie est belle.
Posted in BMX, Gear, Photo, Words
Tagged Hadrien Picard, Hoang Tran, Joris Coulomb, Nokia, Vietnam
“Capturing the Night in Digital Photos, Spectacularly”
My aunt emailed me this article about Vincent Laforet shooting nighttime aerials from The New York Times. Among other things, it turned me onto the 50-megapixel 5DS.
Push It A Stop 